Im looking for a job and realize that connections are everything.

Im offering a $300 bounty to anyone who can give me a successful direct* referral/connection that leads to a job offer in the marketing/pr/ communications business

The requirements
$34k
benefits
Raleigh/Durham Area



I will pay $300 upon receiving the job up to $600 for a 40k job. Extra cash will be given for perks.


I have 4.5 years of managerial experience, an English Degree from NCSU, Spanish Minor. Excellent attention to detail, excellent written and verbal skills. Creative, work well under pressure. I love deadlines.
I am willing to work overtime, nights, weekends, take classes outside of work, start off in a probation period.

[Edited on April 13, 2011 at 7:37 PM. Reason : n]

[Edited on April 13, 2011 at 7:42 PM. Reason : f]

4/13/2011 7:30:38 PM

With 4 years of exp, it feels like you could ask for more.

4/13/2011 7:50:50 PM

Not in this economy

4/13/2011 7:52:53 PM

4+ years management at the IMAX*

I am looking for anything honestly, but really want to get my foot in the door with an advertising company or doing something with pr/ com etc.

4/13/2011 7:55:21 PM

Move to NOVA area, become a contractor for the gov, you would make more than that most likely....

[Edited on April 13, 2011 at 8:11 PM. Reason : too bad you want to stay in NC...that limits you....]

4/13/2011 8:09:38 PM

pm sent

4/13/2011 8:32:37 PM

Wow, this might be a brilliant idea. However, It also might lead you to a bunch of dead ends if people are just trying to throw leads at you for money. I'm very curious about how this will work out.

4/13/2011 11:03:17 PM

you need to get out of RDU asap if marketing / pr is your thing.

4/13/2011 11:29:39 PM

You could always go the corporate marketing/PR route. I work in corporate communications for a large company in RTP and they've hired a few people over the last few years.

4/14/2011 12:28:27 AM

I would be open to any other fields at this point as well. Obviously engineering and computer programming are out, but anything that is interesting work will be considered.

4/14/2011 12:16:48 PM

Shit, if you were in Greensboro you could start for me on Monday

4/14/2011 12:27:11 PM

Quote :

"you need to get out of RDU asap if marketing / pr is your thing"

um why? There are tons of marketing/pr positions around here

4/14/2011 12:45:53 PM

i am also interested in this threads success or failure.

4/14/2011 12:59:14 PM

^^let me just say that those jobs do require some experience as well...so not as many true entry level jobs

4/14/2011 2:23:50 PM

^^^^ Thanks for the offer. i appreciate the bode of confidence.

4/14/2011 3:50:09 PM

^Why wouldn't you consider that? Hell I lived in Raleigh and commuted to Asheboro daily for almost a year. Greensboro is the same commute and honestly its only about 30min a day difference than commuting from one side of raleigh to the other.

2.5 hours commuting is exponentially better than unemployed, at least in the short term. Just think of how many audio books you can listen to

4/14/2011 6:27:48 PM

If you tell someone you work well with deadlines and you work well under pressure, it seems like you might have a tendency to procrastinate. If you're going to advertise yourself, I suggest not mentioning them at the same time.

4/14/2011 8:02:57 PM

^ Yeah that is true. I am considering it.

4/14/2011 8:03:16 PM

^^I'd challenge that. As long as you deliver consistently when you say you are going to, I could give a damn if you burn the midnight oil or not. Mentioning that you can handle pressure to deliver and you are comfortable meeting deadlines are both highly desirable traits.

4/14/2011 9:06:43 PM

bump that reward up to

$400



$400 if your job lead turns into a successful job offer

4/18/2011 12:41:18 PM

have you considered a career in outside sales?

4/19/2011 7:40:03 AM

Find me a decent degree, get $300-600

4/19/2011 8:04:34 AM

^^ yes, but Ive read a lot of horror stories and dont know how to find a good company.

4/19/2011 3:26:27 PM

I am in outside sales, which is currently salary+commission, but will move into straight commission starting at the beginning of July 2010. I have been in this position since July 2009. I have competition from several direct manufacturing sales reps, large distributors, and local distributors. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of each:

Direct Advantages: Immediate knowledge of new technology, no middle man mark up, one shipping bill (paid by manufacturer or buyer of goods), access to larger range of non-commodity items, control inventory, have access to many distributors that can effectively sell their goods which increases market share, and set prices of commodity they manufacture.

Direct disadvantages: Typically have 1-3 sales reps per region (i.e. southeast, mid-atlantic, northeast, etc.) limiting the number of accounts they can successfully manage/cold-call, lack physical customer service or physical technical service available to or affordable for smaller users or altogether, are sometimes not trustworthy because they will go in behind their distributors that sell their commodity to one account in large quantities (i.e. they missed a big account, and have found out about it through a distributor selling their particular product) which leads to the distributor not selling their product anymore, have too many distributors selling the product ultimately driving the set price down through deviations, possibly rely on distributors to actually sell the product, and competition from other direct sources.

Large distributor advantages: have access to other commodities that go hand in hand with other manufacturers (poor example- grocery stores sell milk as well as cereal), get direct pricing, many locations regionally or nationally easing the shipping burden of buyers with multiple locations, personal service either customer or technical, many sales reps that are able to cover a broader territory, access to multiple manufacturers of the same commodity allowing to keep prices in check, service programs that smaller companies can't offer and direct providers can't match in price or value, and experts of many many commodities as opposed to one or a few.

Large distributor disadvantages: smaller local distributors creating price wars (think Michael Scott Paper Co vs Dunder-Mifflin), direct mfg's going in behind and stealing business, limited access to all of the mfg's (you won't find Harris Teeter name brands in Food Lion and visa versa), can't truly set prices because it's based on both supply and demand, territory management, and tough growth prospects in slower economies (this is true for direct as well really)

Local distributor advantages: Typically a good ol' boy setting where the seller and the buyer know each other for years (this does happen at all levels, but mostly at the local level), local folks are right down the street and can be used in emergencies, if the local guy buys at high enough volumes then there is no shipping charge to the end user, and access to both direct mfg's and large distributors.

Local distributor disadvantages: easily beaten in price, array of commodities, array of technology, lack of trained staff, low cash flow, etc etc etc.

This is what I have noticed in my six months, I am sure there are plenty more that need mentioning. The way I am setting myself apart as a sales person is this: I go after the big accounts right now while I am new. The big accounts, if I land them, will take care of me while I am new and building a customer base. The money made off of those allows me to focus free time on smaller accounts that get me higher margins. I build up big accounts, I would like to have 5-10 of these, then get 20-30 medium accounts. If I lose 1 or 2 big accounts, the 20-30 medium accounts keep me afloat while I go after new big accounts. I don't really waste time on small accounts simply because they basically pay for breakfast or something really small.

I will say this, if you can't get a big account in the first 6-8 months (assuming you have cash flow that you can ride this long) you could be in a world of trouble. If you can get one, it will really make going after the others a lot more enjoyable and less stressful. It's simply just very exhausting wasting any time on anything other than big accounts in the very beginning. You work just as hard on the medium sized accounts and see 1/3 to 1/36 of the money in my situation.

4/19/2011 3:37:57 PM

I have some contacts in the pee drankin' industry.

4/19/2011 3:43:21 PM

^we probably have the same contacts

4/19/2011 3:48:05 PM

I realize this thread is about pee drankin, which I am not. Hear me out, maybe I can offer some insight....

4/19/2011 4:41:41 PM

do this guy's asterisks lead to any side notes?

4/19/2011 5:17:30 PM